you are talking about abstract statistical measuring. they have found a small but statistically significant effect of sba lending on economic development. host: robb mandelbaum is a small business writer with the "new york times." that does it for today's "washington journal." we will have live coverage of the press club with the governors' association chairman talking about politics. he will outline the important role for democratic governors to take part in the party's resurgence in 2012 as well as jobs. thank you for joining us for "washington journal." we will be back tomorrow. [captions copyright national

cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] .

>> we are live at the national press club where maryland democratic gov. martin o'malley, briefing on the economy of the 2012 election and jobs. live coverage on c-span. >> good morning. welcome to the national press club and today's news program. i am ed lewis, a member of the newsmaker committee. thank you for being here. this might be a good time for everyone to put their mobile device on a vibrant, if you will. this morning, we are fortunate to have as our guest the governor of maryland, chairman of the democratic governors'

association, martin o'malley. with the 2012 election around the corner, we hope he will share a few notes from his election playbook on the role democratic governors will play nexteir party's resurgence year. first elected in 2006, he was reelected last year with 56% of the boat, a 13% margin over his opponent. under his administration, maryland has cut nearly $7 billion in spending, at the same time, the state has made huge investments in education. maryland is one of only eight states with a aaa credit rating. this year, maryland ranks 10th in new job creation with an unemployment rate below the national average, and maryland public schools have been ranked best in the nation for three years in a row.

as chair of the dga, he is what the clinton for stemming the tide after a number of games by republican governors in recent years. compared to his predecessors, he has seen as more aggressive towards republicans and is a staunch report predicts supporter of president obama's agenda, including the american jobs act. in june, dga announced it had raised $11 million in the first six months of 2011, with $8.6 million cash on hand, a record called for the dga. especially in an off-election year. most insiders believe governor o'malley would be a shoo-in to win reelection as dga chair this december. i just discovered that as a former mayor of baltimore, he appeared as himself in the movie "latter 49."

>> a hard roll. -- "ladder 49." >> mr. lewis, thank you. thank you to everyone here at the national press club. thank you for being here this morning. it is great to be with all of you. i wanted to talk to you a little bit today from a democratic governor's perspective, about the pace of our nation's job recovery, the governing choices and economic policies that democratic governors are making to tolerate that jobs recovery. each of us has a role to play. i'd also, the very different set of courses that i see being made by many republican governors. let us jump in here, shall we? over the last five years in our state, in the state of maryland, we have been focused on creating jobs and improve the conditions

for job creation with performance measures, making our government work more effectively, with openly setting public goals and transparency. we measure our progress towards achieving those goals. we -- building on the strengths that mr. lewis can be mentioned, and the better decisions of our state to pass, we have been able to make progress, and even in some very challenging economic times. how have we done that? by choosing a balanced approach. a balanced approach that includes a mix of cuts, revenues, and strategic investment in that better future that we prefer. strategic investments in the very foundations of our economic strength, like public education. the progress that we are making in the 20,000 net new jobs created so far this year, progress we're making in maryland's public school being named number one in america

three years in a row. that never happened before, but it happened in the middle of this recession. progress in driving violent crime and homicides to their lowest close since the 1970's. and progress in protecting our aaa bond rating. across the country, democratic governors in the toughest of times, are balancing budgets, making tough choices, creating jobs, and moving forward, and doing it all at the same time. as governor bashir recently said in concluding what i believe was a near-perfect campaign in kentucky, he said the closing days of that winning campaign, "true leadership is having the courage to make the right cuts and the good sense to make the right investments." last week in ohio, and the last week also in kentucky, about a month ago in west virginia, we

saw that the voters sent a very powerful message, and it was this. knock off the narrow ideology and put job creation first. in kentucky, steve howe bashir ran a near perfect campaign. how did he do it? he focused on the choices that we must make together in order to create and save jobs and expand opportunity. that is also what governor thompson did in west virginia. his opponent talked about peripheral issues, like health care lawsuits. -- tomlin did in west virginia. his opponent when into peripheral issues, like can do business opening ceremonies, challenging the sincerity of gov. bashir's religious beliefs.

but they stayed on job creation. the state focused on the things that could leaders do, regardless on partisanship, to make the tough and right decisions. ohio voters overwhelmingly disapproved governor kasich's overreaching anti-union ideology by rejecting senate bill 5. as you know, this bill would have taken away collective bargaining rights from public employees, including bonds and dads who happen to serve all of us as firefighters or police, or teachers. more people turned out to vote against senate bill 5 than turned out to vote for governor kasich to begin with. the voters, i believe, in effect said, enough with the anti-union in theology. what does banding unions have to do with creating jobs and expanding opportunity? voters in all three of the state's told us they want their

leaders to bring people together to create jobs and solve problems, and do the things that work. that is what democratic governors are doing in every part of our country. making the tough but right choices, and now, to create jobs and expand opportunity. recently, governor malloy of connecticut called a special session around job creation, and he called together democrats and republicans alike in a package that included balance and investment and infrastructure, tax credits, job training, regulatory, and support for small businesses. in business -- delaware, jack merkel, a man that has a very much business approach to making government work, has put forth the series job creation initiative called building delawares future now. it calls for additional investments in the job creation priorities supported by

democratic and republican and business groups across the country in infrastructure. in north carolina, the governor began initiatives that made every student college ready by the time they graduated from high school so that the tar heel state's work force has the skills they need to fill the new jobs that are created by the new economy in north carolina. there are two economic models at play here. if there is anything we should have learned from the administration of george w. bush, it is the trickle down economics does not work. trickle-down economics does not create jobs. trickle-down economics does not grow our middle-class. trickle down economics does not expand opportunity. yet, the struggle goes on between two competing economic models. one that has been proven to work

in every generation, versus one that brought us record debt and record unemployment. 1 that bill largest and strongest middle-class in the history of the planet, versus one that brought us declining middle-class incomes for the first time since world war ii and nearly drove our economy into a second great depression. these two fundamentally different sets of choices are playing out not only in congress, but of course, in statehouses across the country. let's go back to ohio as an extreme example among money, where governor kasich is making deep cuts in economic priorities, like public education, even as he cuts taxes for these states -- the estates of debt millionaires and billionaires, hoping that they will reach back from the grave and create jobs and expand opportunity for those of us who are still living. by their own trickle-down theory, the massive

concentration of wealth should have brought about better times, and not economic disaster. if their theory worked, millions of jobs should have been created now by this concentration of wealth, the greatest concentration that has ever happened to one sliver of our population. there should be jobs falling from the sky. we created only 1 million jobs during the bush administration. during the clinton administration, we created 23 million jobs. i report, you decide. which one is the more effective model? and they succeeded in accomplishing their mean very well and we have to give them a hat's off for that. that was the extreme concentration of wealth, but it brought about near-disastrous economic results for the 99 percent of us. it has been a failure for

america, america's economic growth, and we are still recovering from the losses of the bush decade and there failed trickle-down economic model. president obama and democratic governors reject their model. it is not fiscally responsible. it is not good for our country. we believe in a different model, a more effective model, and more traditionally, if you will, an american model. this puts jobs first and recognizes, to create jobs, a modern economy needs modern investment. that is not a democratic or republican idea. that is an economic truth. that is an historic truth. that is an american idea, and one that we have proved out time and again as a people. we have a long way to go before we recover all the we have lost in the last decade, but we can make our economy stronger, and we can make our country better.

last month, our nation achieve the 13th month in a row of positive job growth under president obama's leadership. that is 13 months in a row, which is the longest stretch of consecutive, positive job creation that our country has achieved since 2005, 2006. meanwhile, the private sector has gone for 20 consecutive months in a row of net-positive job growth. last month, under president obama's leadership, we drove home foreclosures down to their second lowest since we had seen since november 2007. in july it was a 44-month low. because we are starting to make better choices for people, our economy is starting to get better. bank failures are down, corporate profits are up, but better is not good enough. we have not regained all that we

have lost in the bush recession, and to many citizens are still hurting and searching for work. the truth of our situation is, we will not move beyond our current job creation and employment difficulties simply by cutting. it is not possible. if it feels to you that every month our economy is taking two or three steps forward and then taking one step back, that is because every month, for every two or three jobs created in the private sector, our public sector is eliminating a job. in absence of a more balanced approach, the absence of moderation and measure in the public decisions of our national endeavor is forcing counties, cities, forcing states to slow down our jobs recovery with never ending layoffs and job eliminations. if our public payrolls were bloated, perhaps we could all

chalk this up to some sort of right sizing, but in most places, they are not. how much less public safety do you think would be good for baltimore or newark? how much less vacation do we need as a nation? for the last decade, we have been severely undercapitalized in the great job generating an opportunity expanding opportunity of america. we have been under investing in job creation and opportunity expansion. others may want to talk about the morality of an economic system and all economic systems are political. others may want to talk about the morality of an economic system that is rigged to concentrate so much of our nation's wealth in the hands of so few. but i'm just as concerned about how these portraits russians keep us from investing in our country and the better opportunities that we all want

for our children. under president eisenhower in the 1950's, our country invested 12% of federal non-defense spending in our infrastructure. today, we are at just 3%. when it comes to research and development, we are investing 60% less than we were when richard nixon was elected president. in the last 10 years or so, we have seen our ranking and a percentage of our people that have college degrees actually shrink among the nations of the world, declined, from first place, to around 11 or 12. and it is not what other countries are doing to us. it is when we are not doing for ourselves. no one is going to do these things for us. no one is going to make these national economic investments in education, and innovation, and infrastructure for us.

the american society of civil engineers recommends we should invest $846 billion over the next decade to upgrade our roads, bridges, and tunnels. ending the bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, returning to clinton-era tax rates, that is to say, for the highest brackets, would allow us to make $400 billion of that $800 billion in needed investment. to govern is to choose. democratic gov. ed believe there are, in fact, some challenges that are so large, we can only hope to accomplish them by working together. creating jobs, spur innovation and how we feed, fuel, and he'll our people, expanding in this economy, expanding public education and public safety, making college more affordable, rebuilding the 21st century transportation infrastructure,

cyber infrastructure, around king childhood poverty. these things will happen by themselves. we must do a thing as we did before, together, and we must do them ourselves. i appreciate your time in coming here today. i think you for your interest and your important and courageous decisions of many of the states. it is my honor to have served them this past year. i am proud of each one of them. they are all making our country a better place. i will be glad now to open it up for questions. >> thanks. perfect. >> please give us your name and affiliation.

>> we are the news service of the peace center of the state. i am curious how you think the super committee has worked, and what appears to be no compromise at this point, factors into your call for more investment. the opposite seems to be being discussed. >> questions about the super committee and the important work they are doing? i hope all of us will make progress in bringing us together in this time of tremendous division and polarization. what we need is a spirit of compromise and moderation, and an ability to adopt a balanced approach. when 55% of our debt is driven by bush-era tax cuts that primarily benefited the very wealthy, that balanced approach must reasonably include an on doing, reversal, if you will,

and end the ongoing self- inflicted revenue wound. there was a little bit of talk from our friends in the proud party of lincoln, further examination from that first overture, as late as it was, appeared to be more of a shell game than a real step towards reversing the damage of those bush windfalls for the wealthiest of our citizens. i spoke earlier this morning with chris van hollen. maryland is very proud to have congressman van hollen on that committee. he continues to work. there is that sequestered limit.

hopefully, they will make progress. " we all need to stay with this. we do not have another congress right now. as frustrated as we get, as this progress breaks down, this is what we have right now. we have to try to pull things together and make progress with the national interest at the forefront. but we are steering between -- let me stop there. i do not want to filibuster questions. >> politico. you know in wisconsin they are pursuing a recall of scott walker. are you supportive of that? have you spoken to them about pledging resources towards accomplishing that?

>> there are a lot of people that would like to recall gov. walker in wisconsin. as an organization, we have not had a conversation about it. i will tell you this. we have an opportunity to replace and reminded and the logical governor with a democratic governor then get things done. if we can do that, we will get it done. the wisconsin recall could soon be coming up on our horizon. i do not want to get too far ahead of my colleagues, but what i think i can safely say on their behalf is, if the recall goes forward, if successful, the dga will be there. as we were in ohio. >> press first of india. i believe you are traveling to india this month.

has your schedule been firmed up, and why are you traveling there? >> yes, i am traveling to india with a number of businesspeople from maryland, traveling with katie o'malley. she will be doing lots of work on rule of law, something she has taken on as first lady. i will be traveling there primarily to promote maryland as a destination for foreign direct investment into maryland. we have an astounding work force in our state. we have more ph.d.'s per capita than any other state in the union, and we have strengths that are well-suited to india, health care, like science, biotech, and i.t., given the concentration of innovation assets we have in our state. nih to john tompkins, national

security administration -- hopkins, national security administration. all of these things, along with the food and drug administration, make our state a powerhouse for innovation and life science and i.t., and also the national institute of standards makes us pretty much the in disputed at the center for cybersecurity. so we hope to build on those strengths and advertise them and recruit investors from india to invest in maryland. am traveling there the friday after thanksgiving. i will be there for roughly one week. >> [inaudible]

why should we take that seriously, given the success republicans have had in statewide races? >> the question is, with the race is coming up next year, there are 11 races the chair. next year is also a presidential year. we have our work cut out for us. these are not easy times. everybody would like to see the jobs recovery happening a lot more quickly than it is, and i think no one desires that more than the president and democratic governors, but the truth of the matter is, this is a very challenging time. a lot of people are hurting. there are no easy solution or answers. the races coming up next year

are not only important in the traditional way of looking at the horse race, which 1 foot red, blue, but there are also important battles that are being played out -- and every campaign is different. in the past, places like ohio, florida, wisconsin, have played important roles in the ilec for a college meth. in all three of those states we have a tremendous amount of buyers remorse with voters who elected a new governor of a new party, thinking they were sending a strong message for job creation, but instead what they got back was a lot of it impractical and extreme right wing etiology, whether it is anti-union -- ideology, whether it is anti-union, cutting from seniors and college students to

kill tax cuts for the wealthy -- fuel tax cuts for the wealthy. the dga and the contrast they provide, leadership by example, will also play an important role in this presidential race. we are very excited about the potential in indiana. speaker gregg, i have met with him. he is a dynamic person with a fear this commitment to public service, and ability to speak honestly about these complex issues. we also have our vice chair beverly perdue, who is up for reelection in north carolina. in washington state, we will be having a governor's race. jay inslee has created a book on creating jobs in this economy. in new hampshire, and john

lynch, retires one of the most popular governors, and that is after eight years. usually, they get sick of anyone after five or six. there will be a race to fill his seat. in vermont, they would like to -- they like to elect their governors on two-year cycles, like congress. so that one will be up as well. montana, brian schweitzer, will be completing his two-term limit. our attorney general candidate there we are very excited about. there will be lots of things going on in the dynamic of the presidential race. it is not the largest year, but it is an important year. some of the most important work that will be going on, as far as playing into the presidential

race, is contrast of democratic governors that bring people together, that make the right decisions to invest now, and republican governors that are giving us trickle-down economics and some pretty mean spirited narrow minded right wing ideology that never created a single job. and that will be the choice. and it might also be a choice that finds an echo in the national campaign. >> governing magazine. >> one of my favorite. you believe governing can actually work, don't you? government can work. >> you have been having a gas tax increase in maryland. is that something that is going to be palatable to residence? also wondering, do you see that

working at the federal law will where leadership on both sides seem to be opposed to a gas tax? >> question is about the gas tax and the possibility of raising it in maryland. for those of you who may have missed this, we had a blue ribbon commission to look at what we are investing in our infrastructure and to make recommendations for what we need to do in order to invest at l.l. so that not only our bridges to not fall into our rivers, but also that we are building up a common platform of hours. one of the hardest-hit sectors in our economy is our construction industry. . the blue ribbon commission came back with a increase. we are considering that. whether or not we are successful

with bringing people together to make more investments in our infrastructure at a healthier level for economic growth, economic expansion, job creation, is going to depend on the dynamic that takes place. i am one person, one leader in this government. we have to figure this out. tougher to ask people to do in the middle of a recession, and to ask them to pay more for anything. i think among the various taxes out there, you would be short pressed to find one that is more unpopular than a tax on gasoline. having said that, in our state, and each state is different, we have a flat tax on half a gallon of 23 cents.

when gasoline was $1.80 per gallon, back -- $1.08 per gallon, back in the 1970's, at 23 cents was on. since then, our transportation network, infrastructure network, the amount of land consumed, has greatly increased. the gas tax on a gallon has not. even as the price of gasoline went up, recently two or $4, the gas tax stayed at 23 cents. however innovative you want to be, in terms of financing for these things, public-private partnerships, there is no way, no matter how clever you are, to build a $90 million bridge for $10 million. he might be able to push up bond payments, you may choose to toll

part of it, as my predecessor did in the icc, but there is no way to build a $90 million bridge for $10 million. you get what you pay for it. we have to have this conversation and figure out what to do. will the result be some sort of hybrid? it could be. what we need to the knowledge is that we need to invest more in our infrastructure than we were in the 1970's, and no one else is going to do this for us. yes, sir? >> since you answer that tax question so well, the other day, there was an article in the washington business journal speculating that maryland has lost jobs because of its tax rate to virginia. a northrop grumman, other companies. i wonder if you could address

that. what are your plans to keep improving the education system in maryland? >> let me talk about the tax question. the question was, with maryland's progressive income tax, do you see that as anti- competitive and perhaps driving people to virginia? the second part was when are we doing to improve public education? on the first score, we put in place in our state a progressive income tax. the lower taxes for 85 -- income taxes -- for 85% of residents. we increased taxes for 15% of residents. we went from having a flat rate, if you will, to having been graduated, the more you earned, a slightly greater percentage you pay. there were many dire predictions at that time.

the woodrow wilson bridge would be clogged with millionaires, packing up the family moving to virginia. that did not happen. in fact, the latest census results, i think we ranked no. 1 or near the top of the country. a number of millionaires on a per-capita basis that we have in our state. as far as job creation, depending on the period of time, if you look at net new job creation this year on the calendar year basis, compared to our neighbors in virginia -- and we are glad to have virginia as a neighbor. you want strong neighbors. if you are going into a mall, you want it to be vibrant peer you what the other stores to be attractive to people.

we like the fact that we have a strong neighbor in virginia. but in terms of maryland's competitiveness, what we offer, so far this year, maryland ranks 10th in net new job creation among the 50 states. we are roughly in november, october, whatever the latest month was. virginia ranks 49th, i believe, on the year. their unemployment is a little lower than ours. ours is a little bit higher. together, we make a tremendous region. so, we continue to compete. we never like to lose a headquarters to virginia, but at the same time, there are not many things, in terms of economic strengths, but i would

trade virginia. our tax code is more favorable when it comes to new investments and advanced manufacturing, the sort of things. we have the best schools in the country three years in a row. our colleges have become more affordable in the past few years while there's have become less. innovation assets we have in i.t., like science, by attack, are superior to those in virginia. they do have a lot more land than we do. i would like to have more land. other than that, there is not a lot i would trade with virginia. they are good people and we are glad to have strong neighbors. >> what are some of the lessons from the 2011 cycle? wins and fet will take into 2012. >> winds and defeats that you will take into 2012. biggest lessons. the biggest lesson is, people

are pragmatic. people are not fundamentally ideological and their approach to the balance required to make our economy chug and expand opportunity and create jobs. the lesson in 2011 is, -- and i will speak -- my perspective of why i am here. if you look at kentucky, that was a state that president obama did not win, yet, our candidate won by a huge margin against a long serving senate president. you look at west virginia. again, a state the president did not win, but our candidate prevailed, even after weathering a huge barrage of out of state rga dollars, talking about

obamacare, obamacare, why didn't you stop obamacare? the voters are paying closer attention than perhaps many pundits gave them credit for, and they do not like over reach, they do not like ideology, and they do not like mean- spiritedness. they want us all to bring people together around jobs and job creation. a similar lesson, they taught us in the midterms, and that was, having failed to explain the fiscal imperative an economic imperative of health care, they thought we were overreaching as a party and pushing something that was in the wheelhouse of our care and compassion philosophy without regard to the primary concern that moms and

dads have right now, which is keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table. that is the lesson. the voters are paying attention and they do not like this sort of narrow minded, mean-spirited ideology. it may excite the tea party crowds at the republican debates, but it is not what mainstream america wants from its leaders. >> last week we also saw a defeat for democratic candidates in mississippi, louisiana. you are not going to become texting -- the contesting next year, but what is this plan -- what is the plan for democrats to rebuild strength in the deep south? >> repeating the question, what to do about the deep south, how do we rebuild our party in the

deep south? i do not care whether you are from the south or the west, north or east. i think everybody wants their government to work for the taxes that they pay. you look at the good work that mike beebe is doing in arkansas. in fact, i think he was on the cover of "governing magazine." he is an effective governor. gov. beebe me k-12 with the people he serves and make government work. beverly perdue, governor produced in north carolina, has been fighting a courageous fight. it appears for approval numbers

are reflecting the public's approval of her fight to defend education for all of north carolina's children, and therefore, the quality of north carolina's workforce. some states we have tougher times than others because of registration, the strength of the current republican party in those states, but the key to turning around -- not turning around, but winning in 2012, is the key to governing successfully for our country, and that means making government work, be open and transparent, set goals, stay focused on job creation all the time. and i think that can work in any part of our country. i think you will also see, in a country that is changing demographically, becoming more diverse commack as she has

fortunately, in every generation. that diversity brings us economic strength and creativity. i think he sees growing numbers of latino families who are coming into our country and making this american dream work and believe very much in our country's future and the message of democratic governors, which is jobs, opportunity, and making the tough choices now. i did not answer your school question. we have a number of things on our website. if you go on to maryland.gov, we have 15 strategic goals for our state, spanning four big categories. health sustainability, security of our people, and the skills of our people. all four of those endeavors are about job creation at their core. all four of those endeavors are

related to one another. our goal of improving student achievement in our state can be found there along with the plan for doing that. things like continue to make investments, not only in the operations of our school systems so we can keep and retain great teachers, but also school construction, where we have invested a record amount in the past four years as a state. it is the skills to compete initiative, where we are pushing for not only careers in technical education in our high schools, but also for greater access and our community colleges. 40% of new jobs created in our state will require only a certificate or two-year degree. we are also adopting, unlike our neighbors in virginia, the common core curriculum, so that our children can be patched marked on their performance in science, technology, engineering, and matt, against

kids around the world. maryland was the lone state that saw improvement in our nape scores in our recent standardized testing. we have been able to triple the number of teachers in secondary schools that are now certified to teach in size technology, engineering, and meth. we've increased 23% the number of children taking ap exams and passing them. -- engineering, and math. we are also working in a fiscal, financial literacy component, as well as an environmental literacy component to our school curriculum. those are some of the things we are doing. in areas where he struck out is a problem, has been, we are doing some innovative things, especially in baltimore city, where they brought their dropout rate down by a greater amount on

a year-to-year basis than they ever have, with a combination of things like twilight schools, other things. it is all on the website. maryland.gov. we believe very firmly that education investments are economic investments, and the more our citizens learn, the more they will earn and produce. so the delivery plan is there, as it is for the cleanup of the bay, reducing greenhouse gases, improving public safety. >> questions? i have one last question. based on what you have done in maryland, do you have advice to those on the super committee, in congress, who are trying to cut spending and raise revenue? >> and vice to those on the super committee would be, -- advice to those on the super committee would be -- i do not know. that is a great question.

what comes to mind is, we cannot give up, they cannot give up. the second thing, all of us need to put the national interest at first. the people will sort out the politics. we are all servants here. they make the decisions, but they defend -- depend on us to make the right decisions, especially in precarious times like these. mr. lewis, you mentioned in your remarks something about me taking a more aggressive posture towards republicans, members of the party of lincoln. i think our country desperately needs the party of lincoln again. i would like to think, in some ways, i am taking a much more understanding approached to my republican colleagues. i think we cannot allow ourselves to believe that any

one party has all the answers. we need each other. we are a part of an ongoing story here. we need the party of lincoln to re-emerge. we need that party of fiscal responsibility to re-emerge. that part of security to re- emerge. we have to recognize the unity that is, and find ways to put together in a more understanding way. whatever the current detour, rough patch that their party is going through with pandering to the tea party, trying to one of each other in these debates about who was more in favor of portraying prisoners -- torturing prisoners, there are a lot of good people that are republicans who believe in fiscal responsibility, that believed in the great and caring nation that our parents made and built for us. we need to find that goodness.

we need to have that understanding to not ever allow ourselves to become a victim to our own political quackery. we have to find a way to work in the middle. hopefully, they will find a way to undo that self-inflicted wound, revenue wound, of the bush era tax cuts. we will find a way ourselves to make medicare and medicaid more effective so that we can save dollars and care for the citizens who need it. my advice would be to search for understanding in one another, look for the part of the good intentions in one another and to never give up. >> if there are no more questions, thank you for coming out. that concludes our program. >> mr. lewis, thanks a lot. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> as governor o'malley leaves the national press club, the associated press is reporting the nation's highest court will hear arguments over president obama's health care overhaul. the supreme court announcing the decision to take the case this morning. that means arguments could come in march before federal elections in the fall. republicans say the patient protection at act is unconstitutional because it

requires all citizens to buy insurance. federal appeals courts have been split on the assessment. bluecross blueshield association president will deliver a speech on transforming healthcare and changes ahead for the health- care industry. you can see that live beginning at noon eastern, here on c-span. congress returns to session today at 2:00 eastern. the house will consider a number of bills, renaming post offices and other federal buildings. later in the week, coast guard programs and help for jobless veterans. the senate will spend a week on federal spending for this budget year. several agency still operating under temporary authority. you can see the senate on c- span2. c-span 3 will be live starting at 5:00 eastern as a house committee looks at rose to concealed handgun licenses in one state to be carried in another. the bill is scheduled to go to the full house later this week.

>> most people think of the oa as a broadcaster on shortwave, listening to the police. that is an outdated image. >> the changing face of voice of america. >> we are now on facebook, twitter, satellite tv. we are on fm radio. we have a lot of affiliate's around the world. radio and television stations that use us as a kind of washington bureau. we are finding lots of new ways to communicate with people, but the mission has stayed the same. >> vice-president joe biden spoke about new technology and free speech protection in the u.s. and around the world at school ofs nackey loeb

communications first amendment event. vice-president biden's comments are just over half an hour. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. you are very kind. and joe was very kind in his introduction. when we were backstage -- by the way, i understand my friend rick santorum was here. if he is here, good luck, but a. i hope you do better than i did. -- luck, buddy. i represented delaware for years, he represented pennsylvania. it used to be we could disagree without being disagreeable. rick, i miss seeing you. good luck. if you are not here, someone will pass along. joe and i have known each other

for a while. he was kind enough to welcome me. i looked at him and i said, joe, mr. loeb is probably rolling over in his grave right now. he immediately pulled out a copy of an editorial i have had for the last 35 years hanging in a cold frame -- gold frame hanging next to the mirror in my bathroom telling me that humility is always preferred. i was having a debate with jesse helms, who later became my friend. i wrote the preface for his book. i am still friends with his wife and children. but jesse was a waxing eloquently in our first year in the senate about why senators did not deserve to be paid. i found that someone difficult

been listed as the poorest man in the congress, literally. jesse had significant wealth at the time. i got up and joe says i always say what i mean, the problem is, i say it. i stood up and i said, i can understand why the senator from north carolina is not think he is worth $42,500, but the rest of us are. with that, mr.loeb did a front- page black box editorial that titled "concedes." he said, i am here, and he has not come back to grab joe. mark, is an honor to be with you. mark and "the portsmouth herald" are war planners, but they are also doing something remarkable.

his company is leading in the forefront of renewable energy. i think he will be part of the trail blazing possibilities as the united states continues to lead the world. thank you for your work. folks, again, i want to thank the foundation of the school for inviting me to be here as you present an award that honors ideas, ideas central to the foundation of our nation. freedom of speech and free flow of information. it is an honor to be at a school that embodies those principles. all of you here know your state's motto. live free or die. governor, -- are you here? the governor knows that better than anybody. the only bad thing that is happening in new hampshire is you are not running again, as far as i am concerned. [applause]

sorry for putting my hand up, but i cannot see you. great to be with you. the governor has often reminded me that the model is live free or die. some of you may not know that that quotation came from a toast by a former governor of new hampshire, john starke. it was at a dinner celebrating the battle of bennington. today's freedom fighters have an array of technologies that john stark could not possibly have imagined. modes of instantaneous communication like text messaging and social e-mail, li nking far-flung people. these new technologies and the

way they impact on the first amendment and first amendment values are capable of changing the world in a sudden and profound way. that is what i like to talk with you about tonight. the link between speed and the human struggle for freedom. our own revolution was inspired by people like thomas paine. our constitution was approved after debate, framed widely as the essays as we've come to know as the federalist papers. mass circulation, popular press.

it was contagious. during the cold war, radio and copy machines gave people a window on the outside world and the ability to distribute banned material, fueling the drive for a better life to help bring down the berlin wall 20 two years ago -- 22 years ago. i remember going through checkpoint charlie. i brought my son with me so he could see what oppression was about. they look for any banned reading material and any ability to copy

the material that was banned. from a control room in the empire state building, radio free europe began. they started off by using a simple tagline, saying "in the american tradition of free speech." despite soviet propaganda that they were tools of the u.s. government's, they earned world wide reputations for journalistic independence and they became recognized as beacons of truth throughout the world. average citizens from east berlin to moscow huddled around shortwave radios, listening to the truth, denied them by their

own governments, and took part in knowing that the world had not forgotten them. the most damaging thing an impressive government can do is to convince them that no one else knows and no one else cares. the greatest gift the world can give people who are imprisoned is to let them know that they are not alone. there are others like them fighting the same fight. they are not forgotten. millions of people support their aspirations for freedom. talk to anyone. talk to anyone who escaped from an oppressive regime. i will bet you lunch that the e -- they wille derived fro

tell you that the greatest solace was derived that someone knew. lech walesa -- we invite world and leaders to come in and have lunch with us. you line up at the door in these beautiful rooms at the capitol with a large table, about the size of a cabinet room and the white house. we were told lech walesa it was running behind. i was first in line. i was the ranking member. i walked to a phone. just as i got to the phone, in

came lech walesa, president of poland. he helped topple the communist regime. here washe was. he walked by everybody in the door and he walked over to me. he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "thank you." i said, no, no, no, thank solidarity. he said no. radio free europe and the holy father. they brought the world down. he is right. one thing tyrants have known is that information is power.

it is a powerful weapon in the hands of a free people. it masks lies, rips off the bandage of deceit for all to see. it emboldens freed men and women -- men and women all pressed to be free -- oppressed to be free. look at today -- twitter, cell phone video. how rapidly they are unmasking the lives of tyrants. they have given everyone in an oppressed land a worldwide platform in their pocket in a

way to both listen and to speak. the printing press, radio, television, and the other tools of liberty could not and did not. technology is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. and internet that enable all pressed citizens to take not dictators are using -- can be used by dictators to tighten their grip on power. for the leaders who do not fear their citizens but rather what to warn their respect and their support. these technologies have a number of positive effects on governance. technology is enabling

government to be more transparent, to give their citizens greater insight into how decisions are made. to give you two examples, documents released can now be up loaded on the internet so that it is available not just to the person who made the request but for the whole world to say. it has a powerful, powerful impact on the government s when they are deciding whether or not to withhold information in the first place. the state department reveals internal papers, many of them critical decisions that we made earlier, we as a country. proof of the strength of our

system and our democracy. part of what i would refer to as american exception malist. many americans have lost faith in their governments to manage tax dollars. we have the ability to rebuild and regain their trust. we can put facts and figures in place for all to see. there's debate about the recovery act. there is virtually no debate about the transparency and accountability of that money and how it was spent. when the president gave me the privilege of overseeing the implication of that act, i

insisted that we literally set a new standard of transparency and accountability, because people -- democrats, republicans, independents had an over cynicism of the government to handle their affairs. in the entirety of the federal government and ask them to put together a board of other ag's. we asked them to employ the most

to be able to follow the money. to track and account for every dollar. it was overseen by this independent group and monitored in what was called a war room that they doubt the recovery operation center. in look like a mini -- it looked like a mini norad. they asked, what tools are we able to use to track these dollars and a fairer out fraud -- and ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse. you can track the money that was spent, and for what purpose. it had a profound impact.

it deputized hundreds of thousands of american citizens to go out and tell us, tell them, tell the recovery board when the money was being misspent. they could go on line and say there would be a crosswalk in such and such a town. they could go by and see if there were 10 guys standing there eating their lunch or if it was being put in it and whether or not it was on time, who the contractor was. the citizens began to check the work of the government. and now working with our republican colleagues in the house -- we're determined to make this standard through the recovery act the permanent standard for every government contract in the future.

we are insisting on transparency at home. pursuing thise're agenda internationally, all around the world. in september at the open government -- with the new nations that are emerging, it is one of the things we're doing with them, whether it is in libya.iraq, or these technologies enable governments and the private- sector to make important progress in international development programs. the u.s. launched a grand

mothers' lives at birth. over 600 innovators submitted their ideas 3 website. it was visited by people from more than 100 countries. 20 candidates have been targeted to take up their ideas and making them available to people the world over. i could give you scores of examples. farmers use cell phones and the internet to track market prices and to decide when to sell and when to grow, what goods to take to market. it is free now. the use of new technology will only increase in the years to come. students will be the

beneficiaries and have to deal with these changes. by 2012, more than 5 million people -- 5 billion people in the world will have access to cell phones, it is estimated. god knows what that will be in 2018. another advantage is the ability to expose atrocities committed by governments around the world. the brutal suppression in 2009 in iran. someone with a cell phone, someone with a small video was able to send it a viral, exposing the atrocities, the lies, and the butchery taking

place in those countries. technology has had another of fact there was not fully anticipated. they impose a burden on the rest of the world to act because they could no longer say, i don't believe it. or -- they are a sovereign nation. we will not be engaged. as made clear to our friends who were ready to hold our coats, they had to take their coats off as well, or lose self-respect worldwide. they could no longer plead ignorance to the oppression of brutality that exists in parts of the world's. . and where the consensus could be built, nations of the world have

begun to intervene in a way that never happened before. this is just not an american responsibility to engage ever work there is oppression, because it is not. as nato approved during the recent libyan operation, the world acted. saved potentially tens of thousands of people from brutality and death. it was done, could not have been done without our leadership and our technology. it was done without losing one single american life. it work now has only begun there. they have to establish in a country in government.

for the first time in my career, not viewed as a sole responsibility of a superpower. the free world has a capacity to help. technology is feeling the universal aspirations to freedom. when the fruit vendor in tunisia said himself aflame to protest the oppression of this government, new technology gave oxygen to the flame and is spread across the entire middle east. the consequences of which we're not fully aware of yet. protesters in tunisia and egypt use social media and cell phones to organize and

outmaneuver government security agencies. videos when a viral in yemen and syria. regimes crumbled in a matter of weeks. it can also be used as an organizing tool. a call to assemble the right of citizens to assemble, in some cases in the tens of thousands. we have also seen technology used in more nefarious ways. it is neither inherently good or bad. 9/11. the organizational tool they used to bring down the world trade towers and killed thousands of americans. terrorists continue to use the

internet to plan attacks and to recruit followers to their cause. repressive regimes use cell phones to trace dissidents and eavesdrop on other communications. today's repressive governments seek to establish an electronic curtain to wall off their people from the outside world. but they are destined to fail. the iranian government jams television signals. they sensor access to the internet to control what the iranian people see or hear. government justifies these virtual crackdowns by invoking "perceived security threats."

in america, debates about freedom of speech are older than the country itself, older than his republican, and they arise whenever a new technology seems to threaten security in the minds of some. the federalists and the anti federalists debated the bill of rights. sweeping. acts were approved and became controversial campaign issues at the dawn of the 19th century. it is easy to forget that the

freedom of information act, the law that allowed the amount veterans groups to learn about the composition of agent orange and journalists to explain how brake failure was causing navy jets to crash, was resisted by both parties not to long ago. "the president had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the signing ceremony. he hated the idea of the freedom of information act, hated the thought of journalists rummaging through government closets, hated challenging the official view of reality." eight years later, a man i knew and admired, president ford,

vetoed a bill to strengthen the freedom of information act. he thought strengthening the freedom of reformation act would weaken the security of the united states. join those in the senate who overrode president for's verd's veto. the debate was intense. joe remembers. the struggle to ensure liberty has been at the heart of our democratic experiment and will continue to be. the united states, every case eventually erred on the side of liberty.

because of our faith and the marketplace of ideas and the common sense of our fellow ot.izens, that is the roa because we have always rejected the false choice between our security and our ideals, and we have gone on to encourage all nations to do the same. the good news is that nations that seek to control the information are continuing to lose the race against time and their fight against the future. the truth will help -- the truth penetrated the iron curtain. sors -- we have a

moral obligation in hastening the failure of those who argue, we cannot act to increase the flow of information citizens are entitled to because of perceived threats to our national security. that is why our administration makes no apologies for helping citizens around the world evade the controls imposed by their governments. countries to try to have a both ways by making the internet close of free expression but open for business -- are going to find it is fruitless tasks that will fail. they may try to build walls between these different activities, but there's not a

separate economic internet and a separate political internet and a separate social internet. there is simply the internet, and it must, must, must remain free. with all the potential dangers on the downside that may present. i saw in my visit to china -- i was asked by president hu and president obama, the vice president and i were asked by our respective presidents -- he is about to become the president of china in january. the only conflict that is worse than one that is intended is one that is unintended. tip o'neill would say all

politics is local. i would say all politics is personal. it matters whether you understand one another. i spent time in china, traveling the country with the president, meeting with him multiple times in multiple cities. during that visit, a nation still rationing the libbers it allows its population -- they were seeking to build a world- class economy. ultimately that cannot be done. they both cannot be done. when business considers investing in a country with pork internet freedom -- with poor

internet freedom, they know their staffs are harassed and their profits are confiscated. so they will look elsewhere. they will look elsewhere. a few years before his death, thomas jefferson said the only security of all is in a free press. the force of public opinion it cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. thomas jarvis and cannot have to imagine the cell phone -- thomas jefferson could not have imagined the cell phone or the world wide web. i am a student of him. i look old enough to be of his.

[laughter] that is what president obama keeps telling me. i believe he would understand the enormous consequences in this communications revolution. its ability to bring down our present regimes. to disseminate innovation and agriculture and medicine technology. to democratize access to things that can change people's lives. and its power to empower from town, to reach. these advances in technology will continue to expand. you students being educated, i

promise you you'll be offered the same false choice every generation of americans has been offered. the choice between liberty and security. it is a false choice. i am confident that just like generations have gone before you, you will choose and understand that we cann have both. i'm conflict is a market exception wasn't can and will this american and will was salism can endure.

thank you [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> mr. vice-president, thank you fear remarks. i'm glad to underline that. i haven't been listening to speeches. this eagle was crafted by an exceptional american. i think she would be proud we are giving it to another. >> i am proud to except it. thank you very much. [applause]

thank you. thank you. [applause] >> across blue shield president will deliver a speech and changes ahead for the insurance industry. you can see it live coverage beginning at noon eastern today on c-span. the house and senate will both gavel and today at 2:00 p.m. on c-span. the senate is spending the week on federal spending. the house is live here on c- span. c-span3 will be live as house democrats hold a forum on the voting laws.

that is live at 2 eastern c- span3. >> wednesday, watched live streaming coverage of the national book awards from new york city. the awards ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. eastern. book tv is live with george mcgovern, harry belafonte, and others. find the complete schedule online. >> the state department has put out a report on international students in the u.s. we talk with a couple of officials this morning about what that would mean.

host: they are here to talk about the headline that i showed you in the break. let me begin with you. how did you figure in 20 billion? given as an example. -- give us an example. guest: most foreign students pay tuition and room and board and go to the local wal-mart. they buy computers and furnishings and books. we look at what's dudes would have paid intuition and we take out any grants they might have gone. about 2/3 pay their own way.

host: there are about 70,000 students -- 700,000. host: why do these countries topped the list? guest: 16% of the students coming here come from asia. we expect to see that number and we expect to see it to grow. our future progress depends on

what students discover in our laboratories and classrooms. our kids to know how to work next to an indian or brazilian. this prepares them for their future and hours. host: why is a good these students are coming from other countries? guest: they make our student body more diverse. that is who they are going to be doing business with. you are seeing two student bodies coming together. they will work side-by-side with each other. they globalize our campuses and community. host: the campuses to which the

students are going -- what is the role of the state department and getting students to come to the united states? guest: we have education usa. would help students navigate the higher education system and give them accurate and comprehensive information about our campuses and our colleges. we encourage them to come to the nine states to enter any questions. we try to make it easier for them to get here. the budget is very small, $12 million. it is not a large number. host: why shouldn't this be

universities reaching out to the students? guest: we are working in partnership to make sure we are expanding. indiana, ohio, michigan, strategic foreign plans to get students to the united states. we worked side by side to figure out ways to get more students here. $21.3 billion last year in an economy -- we work side-by-side with states and schools and with foreign governments in an interconnection of all this coming together. it is import that our young people work together in this global economy. we want to make sure our young

people are prepared to compete. it makes the nation more competitive when we have foreign students. our young people have a chance to study abroad. we have 270,000 students studying abroad. the secretary of state is issue a call for action for more students to study abroad, get a passport and consider studying abroad. she asked the minister is to support studying abroad and work to find more ways to get young people to study abroad. one% of our student body of 21 billion people is studying in the nine states travels abroad. a lot more people to be aware and prepared. host: is this just higher education?

guest: just hire education. -- just higher education. this is not an immigration program. we want to educate our young people. we have the best higher education in the world. young people want to come study here. host: these are the majors they are looking at. talk about what the universities say about these programs. guest: universities are looking for a diverse groups of students. they're all looking for a wide range of fields and for progress.

the colleges and universities of america -- it requires drawing students from all over the world, the best tunes that you can. host: allen goodman is the president of the institute of international education. you did this report. ann stock, the assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs. how did you team up/ guest: we began this right after world war ii. we have had a great partnership with the state department. host: do you get money? guest: about $300,000.

we raise money on our own. host: we will get to phone calls. democrats -- 202-737-0001. republicans -- 202-737-0002. mary is up first. caller: when you educate foreign people instead of our own, which is why we criticize not having people educated enough to do the jobs in this country and to turn around and bring in 75004 workers every month to do those jobs and to allow foreign students to take the college spots and a grants to bring up

our knowledge base for citizens so they can compete with the world and to what has been noted. host: we will take your point. guest: we have a huge capacity in the united states would have 4000 colleges in the united states. there's lots of capacity. we do have the gold standard and also community colleges. host: american students are going overseas. guest: we need americans to have

a passport. you cannot get that by staying at home. it works both ways. guest: the numbers are up in israel, malaysia, and egypt. host: what is the impact on the cultures that they are going to? guest: we increase people to people exchange for mutual understanding. we'll learn about their culture and their society. it allows us to think more broadly in terms of the people that we will be dealing with. host: you mentioned 270,000

students studying abroad. look at the countries that u.s. students are going to. host: what about hotspots and getting students from hotspots to try to influence heart and mind. guest: the top five are the ones that we know. in the top 25, you're seeing a much more diverse area. they are studying in latin america, asia, and in africa. we have seen those numbers go up. students have a mind of their own. they want to go where they learn a lot. host: this is what they are

learning about, the top fields. let's go to wayne, a democrat. you are on the air. caller: we have the smartest dunes in the world. -- we have the smartest students in the world. why do they say we don't have the smarts to deal with the jobs that are out there? we are smart. what is the reason behind that? guest: we have a real national deficit in terms of americans who are studying math and science. we don't have enough engineers, doctors, or nurses. it begins in high school with the absence of emphasis on science and math.

people find it difficult and they move to other fields. you can do that in america. you can switch from one field to another. we don't have enough of the people of the sciences. we're fortunate that for those education programs, which to recruit and attract students from all over the world. a few will stay in america. many will go back home. host: james is a republican. good morning. caller: thank you. i have a statement and a question. i don't believe the state department's should play a role in sending any child overseas. -- the state department. they have proven repeatedly their inability,

inadequateness, and working against parents of adopted children. -- internationally adopted d children. abductet i had a group of 7000 of parents that the fat their children abducted overseas -- that have had their children abducted. the word needs to -to-- to not let your children overseas -- do not let your children overseas. guest: there are 3 or four programs. guest: the fulbright program sends people from underserved areas abroad for a short period of time. we have several critical language programs. the programs are designed to prepare our young people to learn about cultures and come back home and be prepared to take jobs in the 21st century economy. host: who accounts for their safety?

guest: the embassy. -- the u.s. embassy. there are huge programs in place and safeguards that take care of young people when they are a broad. -- abroad. we take this very seriously, the health, safety, and welfare of any student, whether they are coming here or whether our students are traveling abroad. host: green bay, wisconsin, paul, an independent. caller: good morning. host: good morning, paul. caller: i am concerned about paying for 40% of the cost of their tuition. if it's a state university, u.s. taxpayers pay for these people. this is outrageous. guest: most international students coming here pay their

own way. they pay tuition and room and board and other fees. when a u.s. institution gives a student a fellowship, it is because we don't have enough people in america who are going to be able to teach the science and math labs. so students from other countries are important to teach our own students. host: how much does the government pay? guest: less than 0.6%. those are typical researchers. host: 0.6%. can you give us a dollar figure? do we know? guest: i don't have that figure. host: a democrat from los angeles. shannon.

caller: i'm opposite from the caller. i was fortunate enough to travel around the world with the military. it would be better if they would go to schools in the middle east now at this point in time. thank you. guest: about 35% of students this year did study in the middle east. there were in egypt and other countries that we did have to evacuate them from. they wanted to go back after they were evacuated, to learn the language, the culture, to continue in the relations that they started with the young people and to continue their schooling so they could bring that knowledge and that competitive knowledge back to the united states.

host: when it comes to evacuate, what is the protocol from the state department? guest: all hands on deck, 24/7. it took about eight days to get people out of egypt. -- i think it took about four days to get out. all our partners the run the programs and many of the independent programs and the state department was on hand to evacuate people immediately. host: how much to those groups contribute to students in their coming here going abroad? do they get money to do so? guest: the fulbright is an annual thing. the only federal program we have that somebody other government contributes to. -- that so many other governments contribute to.

it is great for public diplomacy and cost-effective. our own colleges and universities value having a fulbright students on campus. host: it is a scholarship program. guest: it has a scholarship attached to it. these are people that will serve both countries and they will go back home and built the friendships. guest: take chile. the current ambassador is a fulbright scholar. six or seven other cabinet officers are fulbright scholars. they are working side by side solvent a host of reasons that are important to both of our country's -- they are working side by side to solve a host of problems. that is something that was put in place by congress and our government to make sure we have that people to people exchange all the way through. host: we have a tweet for you.

mary is next, a republican. caller: good morning. i have two points to make. i have a son who just completed college and a daughter who will be going in. we are involved in the application process. we know many extremely gifted students who have been denied or waitlisted at some of the top universities. i think there are two reasons. a diversity issue. what you're talking about -- for instance, and and they pay the full tuition. -- for instance, and -- foreign students, and and they pay the

full tuition. some students may need some aid. i would love to see a comparison done of credentials of some of the students who are admitted before our own students. i would love to see their test scores, gpa's, etc. guest: you can see that in their reports that colleges and universities do. each college and university makes thrown determination for admissions purposes. -- makes their own determination. i think the goal is to bring the best tunes they can to their state and to their campus. international student 10 years ago or about 3% of total enrollment in america. today it is not quite 4%. the numbers have increased a lot. america's capacity to educate our own citizens has increase. there's tremendous capacity to take care of our own students and help internationals.

host: you're saying that is 4%? guest: under 4%. look at other countries that we compete with. there were basically out of capacity. they are at 80%, 20%, 25% -- they are at 18%. host: manses, tennessee -- memphis, tennessee. caller: i just wanted to thank you for having a forum for this discussion. i wanted to thank my personal benefit for being able to go to a high school and also a college. i would like to say that these students are making money in this economy. they are paying taxes on that money. they are buying computers and

paying taxes on what they buy here. the students -- there are lots of positive things about this program. they're paying taxes. they are paying for this program as much as we are. host: let me read from a story from "usa today" about your report. "nearly $20 billion was offset by u.s. support." -- $28 billion. can you respond to that? guest: colleges and universities offer teaching fellowships and graduate assistants to the scholars and students that they need. international students are among that. the wrong way to say that is

that they pay so much intuition and that is the total number. -- they pay so much in tuition. we have to back out any tuition assistance that they get, and they do get some. but 2/3 pay their entire freight and give their way in the united states and that's how we get to the nearly $22 billion they contribute to our economy. host: we have an e-mail. guest: they are coming year on an education program. host: do they need a student visa? guest: it is a non-immigrant student visa. we pioneered doing that. the intent is that the student returns home. most of them do. most of them do.